Movie Theater Experiences

[Murdoch]

More wild fantasizing on my part than anything I'll actually do, but I think I'm done trying to be a missionary anyway.

[RagingNoodles]

This reminds me of a story, I once had a friend over to my house and she wanted to see something special. So, I pulled out my copy of I fidanzati, and it was a torturous experience watching one of my favorite films with her. She was just talking during it, and when the film ended she proclaimed that this director didn't know what he was doing, so he just randomly ended the movie (I won't spoil the movie here). I just gave her a look and mumbled "You can't be serious...", but I moved to another subject quickly. She's a girl that claims to like foreign films and "art house movies", but when you actually show her stuff (even really accessible stuff by Kurosawa), she doesn't care for them in the slightness.

[Michael Kerpan]

I guess I should count myself lucky that my wife (for almost 33 years now) and I have always been in agreement on _almost_ all movies.

[LQ]

Same here It's such a pleasure to share a life with someone whose interest in movies (and forums!) is so well-aligned with my own, and I too count myself very lucky.

[swo17]

Wait a sec, mfunk is your wife?

[LQ]

Hahaha! You couldn't possibly pass up that golden opportunity for a joke now, could you?

"Same [feeling of luckiness] here".

[Perkins Cobb]

Murdoch, as Dan Savage would say, DTMFA.

[BrianInAtlanta]

My two favorites:

Going to see O Brother, Where Art Thou? at a multiplex the same weekend that The Brothers opened. Quite a large number of audience members came in that, stereotypically, one might have assumed had mistaken the former for the latter, but I try not to assume such things. Perhaps they were Coen Brothers fans or liked a George Clooney comedy, perhaps? Or perhaps not as they discussed amongst themselves about fifteen minutes in and filed back out.

A similar, but even better one happened in 1977 when I went to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show, long before anyone yelled lines or sang along, playing at midnight after what was soon to win that year's Academy Award for Best Picture. The group in front of me made it all the way up to the "Sweet Transvestite" number before one of them loudly announced, "this isn't Rocky!" and got up and left.

[domino harvey]

Just had the pleasure of having two fratty pieces of shit sit behind me for the entire duration of Der Baader Meinhof Komplex. Snickers at every instance of nudity, swearing, and idealistically leftist rhetoric-- so, they were yukking it up a lot. But they made it through all two and a half hours, much to my shock. I can't figure out why they even bought tickets unless they just thought the poster looked totally bitchin'-- even though the film is ultimately critical of the RAF, its intended audience is not really Dittoheads!

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

About two weeks ago, LACMA had a rare screening of Je T'aime, Je T'aime. A buddy of mine went to go check it out. Apparently, about half an hour into the screening, some asshole starts talking into his iPhone. An angry cineaste gets up from his seat, grabs the phone, throws it to the ground and stomps on it until it breaks. Apparently a few people cheered over it too. After the screening, my friend saw the guy with the broken phone sitting in his beat up 90's Honda sulking and smoking a cigarette.

[tojoed]

After the screening, my friend saw the guy with the broken phone sitting in his beat up 90's Honda sulking and smoking a cigarette.

I hope it wasn't Fiddlesticks.

[fiddlesticks]

After the screening, my friend saw the guy with the broken phone sitting in his beat up 90's Honda sulking and smoking a cigarette.

I hope it wasn't Fiddlesticks.

I've moved out of my car. Oh, and I quit smoking, too.

[tojoed]

... Oh, and I quit smoking, too.

You're a better man than I.

[foggy eyes]

About two weeks ago, LACMA had a rare screening of Je T'aime, Je T'aime. A buddy of mine went to go check it out. Apparently, about half an hour into the screening, some asshole starts talking into his iPhone. An angry cineaste gets up from his seat, grabs the phone, throws it to the ground and stomps on it until it breaks. Apparently a few people cheered over it too. After the screening, my friend saw the guy with the broken phone sitting in his beat up 90's Honda sulking and smoking a cigarette.

That's amazing. I've dreamed of doing this myself, but always end up asking politely (half the time to little avail). Next time...

[Blood Pie]

My wife and I went to see Inglorious Basterds on opening weekend and a few rows in front of us a couple who appeared drunk based on how they stumbled up the stairs and to their seats started heckling and making TONs of obnoxious drunken banter. We then noticed them pull out a bottle of booze and spike their sodas. My wife and I discussed ratting them out because it wasn't even remotely tolerable and the previews hadn't even started. We decided to ride it out and she left to get her drink. While she was gone and the previews kicked in they kept going on and on. Finally a salty dog sitting in front of them said, "Do you guys mind shutting the fuck up!?". The drunk guy got all defensive and challenged him so the guy stood up and said, "lets go! Right now!" or something along those lines. The drunk sat there and didn't back up his talk but as soon as the guy sat back down he started going on again. Finally, the guy in front of him got up and walked out and said something alluding to the fact that he was ratting them out.

In walks my wife and and not five seconds later a manager walks in and tells the couple they need to leave. They acted like they didn't do anything despite being barely able to walk and ten other people saying, "kick them out, they won't shut up". So they got 86'd and my wife and I enjoy the movie.

As we're leaving I point out the guy who almost fought the drunk and told her how he must have ratted them out and she replied, "I did when I got my soda. I knew they wouldn't shut up".

They would have gotten kicked out anyway but it was still funny to me.

[zedz]

Three cheers for Blood Pie's soda-guzzlin' drunks-rattin' wife! =D> (Where are people like this when I need them?)

[Murdoch]

I'm lucky to have never had an experience like that at a theater, but my rising fear that one will happen each time I do go to the theater keeps me away from most theaters outside of the docile arthouse which basically just gets retirees as patrons.

[domino harvey]

One good thing about going to films with non-cinephiles is that they're willing to miss five minutes of the film to go complain

[Dadapass]

I hate to think about it but I was once in a group of drunken assholes. I had stopped going to the movies with my friends after they would only go to the movies after a few drinks but went with them to watch Blood Diamond and it was the worst. It was basically 2 hours of 'nigger' jokes! It was the last time I went to the movies with them and one of the last times we hung out. That kind of boozing gets old fast.

[cdnchris]

I hate to think about it but I was once in a group of drunken assholes. I had stopped going to the movies with my friends after they would only go to the movies after a few drinks but went with them to watch Blood Diamond and it was the worst. It was basically 2 hours of 'nigger' jokes! It was the last time I went to the movies with them and one of the last times we hung out. That kind of boozing gets old fast.

Despite all the drinking my buddies did, we never went to the movies after hitting the bars. No, sadly my bad theater experience with buddies has nothing to do with drugs or booze. They somehow got their hands on a lot of free solid chocolate Easter bunnies. A few of them decided to eat a whole one before going to the movies one night (I think it was The Fifth Element.) A few of them were wired from the sugar I'm guessing, started making loud noises through the movie, constantly getting up and changing seats, making wise cracks and being general asses. A couple of them then fell asleep. I would have preferred drunk.

[mfunk9786]

Why didn't I think of eating an entire chocolate Easter bunny before The Fifth Element? :-&

[Antoine Doinel]

I've been attending the Cinemania film festival all week and while 99% of the screenings have been with perfect audiences, there was one person that left me utterly baffled. I can't remember which film it was, but a gentleman in the same row as me, perhaps five or six seats to my right, decided that jingling his keys in hand for the whole movie was perfectly acceptable. He would do it in time to music from the movie, but would stop if things were getting quiet or dramatic. I was so confounded I couldn't even say anything. It should be noted, that he wasn't alone. He was with his wife and older daughter so I guess are used to it by now.

[Peacock]

I was at a screening for Realm of the Senses and there was a mid 20s couple seated behind me. Every single time there was any nudity, sexual act, or mention of sexual acts - they sniggered and whispered to each other - every.single.time.
You'd think after 5-10 mins they'd have gotten used to it, but no. Possibly the worst film you could be seated near someone like that

[Antoine Doinel]

Update: at a screening today of "Z", a guy sitting beside me decided to start clicking his ballpoint pen. WTF. Luckily once he got it out of his system - it took about twenty minutes for the on again/off again clicking to stop - he put it away.

[mfunk9786]

Did you say anything to him? I don't know if I could have resisted making a scene.